1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sweeping and wringing apparatus, particularly to a sweeping and wringing apparatus which allows to be effectively wrung dry in an inward folding squeezing movement.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, for wet-cleaning a floor, a sweeper with a long handle is used to avoid to have to bend down during the cleaning work. The handle has a front end to which a cleaning element is attached, which is a piece of cloth or a sponge. However, this kind of sweeper does not have a device allowing to wring the cleaning element dry, so after the cleaning work the cleaning element has to be wrung dry by hand or by stepping thereon by foot, which is inconvenient.
To counter this difficulty, a sweeping and wringing apparatus with a cleaning element that allows to be squeezed has been brought on the market, mainly comprising, as shown in FIG. 13: a handle 1; a sponge 2; a connecting piece 3, attached to a lower end of the handle 1; a gripping element 4, made of punched metal and gripping an upper part of the sponge 2; a connecting rod assembly 5, having L-shaped elements fastened to the gripping element 4, for transmitting a downward movement to the sponge 2; a pair of roll bars 6, attached to a lower side of the connecting piece 3; and a lever 7, connected with the connecting rod assembly 5. When the lever 7 is lifted, the connecting rod assembly 5 is pulled up, dragging upward the sponge 2, which is subsequently squeezed between the pair of roll bars 6, so that water contained in the sponge 2 is wrung out.
This conventional sweeping and wringing apparatus allows to press out water contained therein, but has the following shortcomings:    1. For pressing out water, the sponge 2 is drawn through the roll bars 6. The surface of the sponge 2 that is pressed is comparatively small. In practice, pulling up of the lever 7 is often done fast, with the sponge 2 rapidly slipping through between the roll bars 6, so that the sponge 2 is not wrung dry.    2. The sponge 2 is held by the gripping element 4 and fastened to the connecting rod assembly 5 by a screw 8. After prolonged use, however, the surface of the sponge 2 becomes dirty and the screw 8 becomes rusty to the point of the sponge 2 not being replaceable.    3. Since the sponge 2 is held fastened to the connecting rod assembly 5 by the screw 8, mounting and dismounting thereof has to be performed by a tool or a machine, which is inconvenient and expensive and also impractical during use.